“When I was six years old, my dad brought me to a badminton club in Kedah. I started playing just for health reasons before improving better and better,” he wrote in his BWF profile. Due to his extraordinary talent and results in the under 12 competition, he was soon drafted into the Bukit Jalil Sports School.

See also: Tokyo Olympics 2020: 15 Female Asian Athletes You Should Know

Lee later turned pro at only 13 years old and in 2015, he became the junior champion in the Perak and Selangor Badminton Open, earning him a place in the Badminton Association of Malaysia.

He may be young, but he already boasts an impressive medal haul. In November 2016, Lee bagged a bronze medal in the World Junior Championships for boys' singles and silver for the mixed team category.

This was followed by a silver for the men's team category at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, a bronze for the men's team category at the 2018 Badminton Asia Team Championships, a gold and a silver at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games for the men's single and the men's team categories respectively, and a silver for the men's team category at the 2020 Badminton Asia Team Championships.

Of course, his latest win being the All England Open Badminton Championships.

Although the 23-year-old is not yet on par with Malaysia’s badminton great Datuk Lee Chong Wei, who retired in 2019, he certainly has potential. For the uninitiated, the older Lee was ranked first worldwide for 349 weeks, including a 199-week streak from August 21, 2008 to June 14, 2012, and has won 69 titles during his career.

Currently ranked world number 10, Lee is the highest-seeded men's singles player in Malaysia since his senior retired in 2019. He also conquered the All England five years earlier than his predecessor when the latter won in 2010.

Despite being often compared to his senior, Lee just wants to be his own man and forge a name for himself. "I just want to be myself and concentrate on what needs to be done,” he said.

Like many others, Lee is driven by the Olympic dream. In fact, his biggest sporting ambition is to be an Olympic champion.

Lee Chong Wei has tipped the young shuttler to shine on his Olympic debut. “If Lee Zii Jia can repeat his All England form, he is definitely a medal contender at the Tokyo Olympics,” the three-time Olympic silver medallist said.

Tahniah Lee Zii Jia ! The new All England Champ! Awesome performance and looks like you have found your pace! Keep up the good work!#laginervoustengokboladrpmain

恭喜梓嘉?今晚比赛打出了自己的节奏，再接再厉！ pic.twitter.com/g6UdhhfAxV

— Lee Chong Wei (@LeeChongWei) March 21, 2021

Lee defied the odds and defeated reigning Olympic champion Chen Long of China to reach the All England 2020 semi-finals. All eyes are on Lee, the only Malaysian singles representative, as he's scheduled to face Chen Long once again in the Olympics’ round of 16 at 6:15pm today, July 29, for a place in the quarterfinals on Saturday, July 31. Details on where to watch it here.